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Workplace issues, Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA), Workplace Safety, Public Health, Environment and Political Information that everyone should know.

What happens inside the Beltway matters outside the Beltway.

That's why they try to keep it secret.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Weekly Toll

Machinery accident kills Dixfield woman

LISBON, ME -- Federal safety officials are investigating the death of a 21-year-old woman who was killed in a machinery accident at The Dingley Press, police said.

The accident was reported at about 10 p.m. Friday when Kayla Cox of Dixfield was training on a paper machine at the mail-order catalog publisher, said Lisbon police Detective Bernie McAllister.

Cox died at the scene and six other people were taken to a hospital to be treated for trauma after witnessing the accident, McAllister said.

The accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Lisbon Police Department.

Worker killed in explosion at abandoned Thomson plant

MARION, IN-- A 41-year-old man using a blowtorch to salvage industrial equipment at the former Thomson Consumer Electronics plant was killed Monday night in an explosion that sent a fireball into the sky and rattled windows blocks away.

The victim, Seymour resident John Phillips, and other workers were removing a 10-by-20-foot canister outside the abandoned plant when Phillips cut through pipes connected to the canister just before the blast about 6 p.m., said Marion Police Capt. Jay Kay. The victim was working for Franklin Surplus, near Seymour, to collect scrap metal at the factory site

Fire Chiefs Re-Think Job's Ties to Alcohol

PITTSBURGH, PA -- When about 4,000 firefighters and guests gathered last month at the annual volunteer firemen's convention, they knew what to expect: camping, a parade, and more than a little beer and alcohol. But what started out as a long weekend of fun ended in tragedy when a fire chief died after a drunken bar fight. Another firefighter is being investigated in a fatal car crash because police said he, too, was drunk.... Ray Stringer 43, chief of a volunteer fire company in Tyrone was killed Aug. 19 in a bar fight while in town for the convention. Later that day, John Smoter, 29, of the East Taylor Township Fire Department, was involved in a head-on accident that killed an 83-year-old man.

Man charged with murder in crash that killed officer

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - A day after a Lino Lakes police officer was killed in a high speed crash, state officials said it was still not clear whether the suspect had intended to hit the official or not. Officer Shawn Silvera, 32, was killed Tuesday evening on Interstate 35W in Lino Lakes. He had been placing tire-deflation devices on the highway and was standing next to a police car when he was struck by a vehicle involved in a high-speed chase.

Refugio man guarding diplomats killed

REFUGIO, TX - A Texas man was among four contract security guards killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb flipped their sport utility vehicle on a highway near Basra, Iraq, their Virginia-based employer said. Robert McCoy a 25-year-old former Marine, and the others were working for Triple Canopy, a Herndon, Va., security company that does contract work for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Two Die in One Week at Farmingdale's Adventureland, Worker, Patron First Fatalities Since Park's Opening

Farmingdale,NY- The Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the New York State Department of Labor are currently investigating two deaths that occurred in as many days at Adventureland. The first involved an employee and occurred Tuesday, Aug. 30. According to police, at approximately 10:40 p.m. Stephen Gary, 18, of North Babylon was operating the Lady Bug Coaster at the amusement park on Route 110 in East Farmingdale when he was struck by one of the cars from the ride. Police stated it appears he suffered from internal injuries. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow where he later died.

Wisconsin Silos worker killed in fall

LEBANON, WI – An employee of Wisconsin Silos died in a fall Thursday after scaffolding malfunctioned. Todd A. Johnson, 27, of Plover, had finished working on a silo at N5736 Waupaca County T, and other employees were lowering him, along with another worker, when the scaffolding malfunctioned. When Johnson attempted to fix it, the scaffolding broke from the supporting cables. Johnson and the scaffolding fell to the bottom of the silo.

Local man killed in car crash

Richland,MO-Ricky A. Seiner, 53, of Bolivar, died when a vehicle struck him. Seiner, a Polk County Ambulance employee, was working at a previous traffic crash when he was struck. The crash occurred in Polk County on Missouri Highway 13, south of Humansville. Dr. Christopher Chase pronounced Seiner dead at the scene. Polk County Coroner Nathan Hoffer, Humansville and Dunnigan Fire and Rescue also assisted at the scene.

Riding mower flips, crushes HP&R worker

ST. CROIX, VI - A 46-year-old V.I. Housing, Parks and Recreation employee died Thursday morning when the riding lawn mower he was operating capsized in a gut and crushed him. Deputy Chief Herminio Velazquez said police were notified about 11:16 a.m. Thursday of an accident at the D.C. Canegata Ballpark, east of Christiansted. Officers discovered that Gregory Davis, a resident of Peter's Rest, was cutting grass near a nine-foot gut on the western side of the ballfield when he and the mower fell into the gut and the mower landed on top of him.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A tragic accident in south Charlotte has claimed the life of a longtime postal worker. The body of Anita Chaffin, 69, was found in the street Thursday on Rittenhouse Circle. Investigators said Chaffin was run over by her own Jeep after she forgot to put it in park. Local residents said Chaffin delivered mail in their neighborhood for almost two decades.

Man dies after being run over by truck

EVESHAM-A 26-year-old employee of the Occupational Training Center of Burlington County died Sept. 2 of injuries sustained while he was working on a recycling collection truck here. Authorities said the disabled man, Joshua A. Palmer of Mount Holly, was working a curbside collection route near Carlton Avenue and Wessex Court with a co-employee, routinely leaving and returning to the truck, a 2005 Crane Carrier at 9:40 a.m. They said Palmer slipped and fell and his legs were run over by the recycling vehicle operated by James McGural Jr. of Levittown, Pa., also an employee of the Occupational Training Center.

Bike shop reopens after shootings

Albuquerque,NM- Rider Valley Motorcycles is back in business, nearly three weeks after two of its young employees were gunned down inside. The dozens of flowers that friends of David Fisher, 17, and Garrett Iversen, 22, left along the East Central store's chain-link fence have long since withered, and this weekend they were taken down in preparation for Tuesday's reopening.

Worker Dies in El Sereno Trench Collapse

Los Angeles, CA- First units on the scene reported a single family dwelling on a hillside with workers reporting a person trapped in a trench in the backyard below a retaining wall that was being erected. After confirming that only one worker was missing or trapped in the collapsed trench that was approximately twenty-five feet long and up to six feet deep, Firefighters immediately began the arduous and delicate task to reach the victim that was buried up to his face in mud and dirt on the steep hillside. Clearing mud and dirt from around the victims face and neck, an assessment was made and the forty-five year old male worker was declared dead on the scene.

Well-known farmer and Baptist minister killed in tractor accident

Lafayette, TN- A well-known baptist minister and farmer was killed Monday when a tractor he was operating overturned on the family farm just outside of Lafayette. James Allen Oliver, 80, of White Oak Creek Road, was found Monday night after he failed to come home around dark. He was pronounced dead at the scene but was transported to Macon County General for examination.

Denver Officer's Slaying Sparks Debate Over Migrant Workers

DENVER, CO -- A few hours after allegedly shooting and killing a police officer, Raul Garcia-Gomez checked into his job in the kitchen of the mayor's restaurant. The 20-year-old illegal immigrant had been washing dishes at the Cherry Cricket, the eatery co-owned by Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper, for about 10 months. The most attention Garcia-Gomez, a well-regarded worker, had drawn was a letter from the federal government warning that the Social Security number he had provided was invalid.

Oil field worker killed

FARMINGTON, N.M. -- An oil well service worker has been killed in an accident in San Juan County.

The San Juan County Sheriff's Department identifies him as 29-year-old Ramon Hidalgo of Farmington.

Francisco Rojas, 44, died from head and chest injuries shortly after he was struck Wednesday, Ellis said.

Two other workers we also hit by the beam and Ellis was not sure how severely they were injured. The men worked for R & R Construction in Pelzer, Ellis said.

Rojas leaves a wife and seven children, Ellis said.

Latinos doing dangerous jobs need safe conditions

Fort Wayne, IN- Ezequiel Meza died Aug. 28 in a job accident, like too many Latinos in low-skilled, low-paying jobs working with their hands and backs. He labored as a construction worker - the kind of job that people complain immigrants are taking away from citizens. The work is dirty, sweaty and dangerous.

On Aug. 28, when many people rested from their jobs and attended church, Meza and his work crew were building an addition to an animal shelter in Mansfield, Texas, when the roof collapsed. Meza lay trapped for more than five hours before rescuers recovered his body.

The police said that they couldn't rush in to dig him out for fear of more injuries or deaths. Meza died literally buried in his work.

Truck goes off bridge, hits train; driver dies

La Crosse, WI -- Doug Kerns looked up and saw the truck fly. Kerns, an employee with the city of La Crosse engineer department, was beneath the Mormon Coulee Road underpass Tuesday afternoon, taking measurements and wrapping up a water main project, when he heard metal crash above him. "It shocked me," he said. "I just couldn't believe it was happening. I saw the truck in the air and it was completely airborne for about 60 feet." He watched the commercial vehicle crash through the guard rail, hurtle down the embankment and slam into a passing train, killing the vehicle's driver.

Douglas community mourns death of police officer

Tucson, AZ- For the first time in more than a hundred years, the community of Douglas is mourning the loss of a police officer. Ramon Rios died in the line of duty. Officer Rios collpased after chasing and handcuffing three juveniles Sunday morning. Hugo Valenzuela was with Rios during the struggle with the three juveniles. "He got to his patrol car with the subject still struggling partially with the subject and then he collapsed...Officer Rios collapsed. I myself and Sgt. Margolis proceeded to do CPR."

Construction worker dies after fall at site of highrise condo

Minneapolis, MN- Authorities said today that a worker fell into an open shaft and was fatally injured while on the job at a condominium construction site at 2nd St. and 3rd Av. in Minneapolis, a block south of the downtown post office. A police spokeswoman said her department received a call at 7:08 a.m. that informed them that a worker had fallen and was injured. The construction worker, who was not identified, later died, she said. Contradicting some media reports broadcasting that a body had been found, the police spokeswoman said the incident was a fatal accident.

Worker killed in farm van crash

PORT SHELDON, MN -- A 22-year-old man was killed and six other farm workers were injured in a two-vehicle collision Saturday. A van transporting seven Brady Farms employees was southbound at 8:40 a.m. on 152nd Avenue, about six miles north of Holland, when it was struck by a minivan driven by a 60-year-old West Olive woman, Ottawa County Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Austin said.

The man, unidentified by police, was part of a crew working on a water pipe project at Bastanchury Road and Lakeview Avenue.

Brea police, which patrols Yorba Linda, said workers were moving the metal plate – eight feet by eight feet and one inch thick – when it slipped from some chains. The plate had been used to stabilize the wall of a trench the men were working in.

Construction Worker Dies After Bulldozer Mishap

Ashburn, VA -- A construction worker was killed this morning after he was run over by a bulldozer he was working on along Loudoun County Parkway in Ashburn.

Loudoun Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said the victim’s name is being withheld until next of kin is contacted. He said witnesses saw the man working on the bulldozer’s engine shortly before 11:30 a.m. when the vehicle started to move for unknown reasons.

The man fell to the ground but ended up being run over by the bulldozer. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

This is at least the second construction worker to be killed while working this year. Jose Omar Robles Melgar, 18, of Alexandria, was working in June on a home in the 20580 block of Myers Place in Leesburg when he fell about 20 feet and died.

Police mourn cop who 'loved his job'

Philadelphia, PA- Some 250 mourners, half of them from the law enforcement community, poured into a North Philadelphia church yesterday to pay final respects to Terence V. Flomo, an undercover narcotics officer who was shot to death last week while sitting behind the wheel of his unmarked police car.

Pompano Beach, FL- A welder died Saturday morning at a Pompano Beach warehouse site when a forklift struck a beam the man was leaning on, causing him to lose his balance and fall about 30 feet to the ground. Just a few minutes before the fall, Eder Morales, 36, of Miami-Dade County, had taken off his safety harness to get closer to the joist he was welding, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

SDG&E contractor dies after falling 70 feet from electrical tower

RANCHO SAN DIEGO, CA – A contractor working on an electrical tower on the grounds of a golf course fell 70 feet to his death Monday morning near where golfers were playing.

The out-of-town worker fell shortly before 9:30 a.m. while working at the Cottonwood Golf Club on Willow Glen Drive near Dehesa Road, a fire official said. The man was a contractor working for San Diego Gas & Electric.

Bandimere Worker Burned In Fire Dies

DENVER, CO -- A worker at Bandimere Speedway died Thursday, several weeks after a fire that burned him over 75 percent of his body. Clint Parker, 24, was burned on Aug. 15, when a spark from a welder torch ignited some nearby lacquer in a repair building at the raceway.

Mills D. Boyette, 60, of Colonial Heights had been working with three other city employees to unclog a drain in the park's restroom facility. Boyette had been an employee of the city for seven years.

When the high-pressure hose Boyette was operating burst, a metal coupling struck him in the back of the head. He was first rushed to Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg. He was later transferred to the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond where he died Saturday.

"We're all waiting for the outcome of the investigation," he said yesterday.The hose was attached to a 1991 model Vac-Con truck. Public Works Director Charles E. Loving said the truck undergoes regular maintenance at the city garage. "It was a freak accident," Loving said.

Employee killed in explosion at Butler racetrack

QUINCY, MI — A fuel building exploded and burned at a stock car racetrack in southern Michigan, killing one employee and injuring two others, the Branch County Sheriff's Department said.

The explosion happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Butler Motor Speedway, located on Clarendon Road in Butler Township near Quincy, the department said. It said about 1,000 people were evacuated temporarily from the area.

When firefighters arrived, they found that a large fire had engulfed a building that dispensed fuel to race cars, the department said in a statement. It said the building contained methanol, gasoline and propane tanks.

It said two people suffered minor injuries but Rudy Corsini, 49, of Michigan Center was critically injured. He was taken to Community Health Center of Branch county, then flown by helicopter to the burns unit at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, where he died at 4:23 p.m. Sunday.

Worker falls to death at Huntsville Hospital

A construction worker fell to his death Saturday morning while working on a parking garage being built at Huntsville Hospital, said Madison County Coroner Bobby Berryhill.

The 27-year-old victim, whose name and employer were not immediately available, had been putting up framing when he fell 70 feet about 7:30 a.m., Berryhill said.

Worker Electrocuted

CALOSHA is investigating the Aug 12 electrocution of a 47-year-old caretakerat aSan Jose board-and-care facility. Nestor Fernandez, an employee of ESR Manor, is believed to have contacted a power source in an electrical panel. According to a DOSH report, the ground wire in the panel might not have been secured."

RADFORD, Va. -- A Federal Emergency Management Agency worker heading south to help victims of Hurricane Katrina was killed Sunday in a traffic accident on Interstate 81 near Radford.

Virginia State Police said William McClaughlin, of Manchester, N.H., was part of an 11-vehicle convoy with the agency that was traveling through Virginia.

McClaughlin was driving a truck and witnesses said it looked like one of the tires blew.

Witnesses said the driver struggled to keep control of his truck, but ran off the southbound lanes, over the grass median and hit the guardrail.

Two suspects charged in cab driver's slaying

BOSTON- Police are searching for two Boston men suspected of robbing and stabbing a cab driver to death last week. Investigators have obtained arrest warrants charging 19-year-old Cleveland Martin and 21-year-old Jashawn Robinson with murder and armed robbery. Police say both suspects apparently fled the Boston area after they allegedly killed the driver, 31-year-old Heureur Previlon.

Three crew members killed by toxic gas on cruise ship in LA port

LOS ANGELES, CA - Three crew members were killed by toxic sewer gas Friday as they repaired a waste pipe on a cruise ship that had just returned to the Port of Los Angeles. No passengers were involved. Nineteen other members of the Monarch of the Seas' crew, including two ship's physicians and a nurse, were examined but most were not believed to have actually been exposed to the toxic gas, authorities said....The three crew members probably died within 30 seconds of encountering the gas, Yu said. Fire officials said the repair was being done in an isolated, enclosed space and that most of those who later reported feelings of nausea had not been in the space but decided that they wanted to be checked out.

Tri-State crash kills semi driver, snarls traffic

CA- Traffic on the Tri-State Tollway was snarled for hours Wednesday after an early morning accident that killed a semi-truck driver and spilled "highly explosive ink" onto the roadway, officials said. The southbound lanes of the interstate were shut down for more than nine hours as authorities worked to contain printer's ink that spilled from 18 55-gallon drums onto the roadway, Glenwood Fire Chief Kevin Welsh said.

Woman Crushed By Construction Vehicle

Oceanside/Island Park, NY- A woman was fatally crushed by a construction vehicle at School 6 in Oceanside last week, and days after the incident the contractor rebuilding the roof at the site resumed the same work procedures. Lauren Ludwig, 52, an assistant director at the Oceanside Counseling Center, was walking from her car in the parking lot to the OCC office in the school at 11:31 a.m. on Aug. 22 when she was caught between the front and rear articulating tires of a Lull Hi-Loader. When the operator of the tractor-like vehicle, George Papas, 29, of Staten Island, heard a scream, he stopped the unit immediately, according to police.

Woman dies after 40-foot fall into storage tank in Canton

CANTON, Mo. — A woman died early this morning after she fell about 40 feet into a large tank, authorities said. The name of the victim was not released. Authorities said several people were at the Ayers Oil Company tank near Fourth and Grant when the woman fell through an opening from the top of the tank to a steel membrane lid, which keeps vapors from rising.

Migrant Worker Dies From Fall

Greeneville, TN- A man identified by Washington County authorities as a migrant worker died on Tuesday morning at the Johnson City Medical Center from injuries suffered when he fell Monday afternoon from a moving truck in Limestone. Rosalino H. Ramirez, 19, no address listed, was fatally injured about 4 p.m. Monday when he fell from the back of a farm truck that was hauling tomatoes along Corby Bridge Road in Limestone.

Construction Worker Dies After Being Hit By Car

Hyattsville, MD -- Maryland highway construction worker died and another man have been injured after being hit by a car.

Prince George's County Fire and E.M.S. spokesman Mark Brady says the two men were hit by the same car around 11 p.m. a few blocks apart on Route 450, Annapolis Road, near the Beltway.

Police have identified the construction worker as 22-year-old Molses Limon.

School Employee Electrocuted

Michael Sallee was apparently electrocuted on Sunday while refurbishing the boys9locker room at the Miller Place High School.

Sallee, 37, of South Beach, who was employed by the schooldistrict, was working with another employee, Corey Breines, installinglighting into a new drop ceiling. The men were on opposite sides of acinder block wall. Breines told police he heard a sound, investigated and foundSallee unconscious. Breines contacted other employees and police andadministered CPR.

Worker dies when a truck runs over him, The incident was Pasco's second fatal on-the-job accident in two days.

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL - The workers were preparing to dump two truckloads of dirt when they heard the voice, frantic, over their CB radios. "Stop! Stop! Stop! You ran him over!" John Rao heard it and jumped out of the driver's seat. He checked behind his own truck. Nobody there. Then he ran behind the other truck. Thomas Willard Johnson, 27, lay there in a fresh tire track. "Hold on, buddy, hold on," Rao begged, as he dialed 911. But Johnson just gasped. "He took his last breath, right there, right there in front of me," Rao recalled later. "His eyes just stayed open."

WORCESTER, Mass. --A construction worker who died when the sidewalk trench he was working in collapsed was the cousin of Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew Amorello. Robert Amorello, 55, died Monday after the five-foot trench in Worcester collapsed and a 4,500 pound slab of concrete fell on him. Amorello, a heavy equipment operator for A.F. Amorello & Sons Inc., often jumped into the trenches to help workers, friends said

Trucker killed in collision with train

Clyman, WI -- Semi-trailer was delivering goods in Dodge County A 58-year-old Iowa man (John Schaer, 58) was killed Tuesday morning when the semi-trailer truck he was driving was hit by a freight train in the Dodge County village of Clyman. The truck was northbound on Junction Road, a lightly traveled road about two miles south of Highway 60, and the Union Pacific train was westbound, when the collision occurred about 8:20 a.m., said Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls. The truck was delivering Union Pacific equipment to the nearby junction area, he said.

OSHA looking into death

Kansas City -A compliance officer with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was sent to Neosho Monday to begin investigating the death of a worker at a local granite company. Paul Sikes, 38, was killed Friday morning at Neosho's Signature Granite when 10 sheets of granite weighing between 700 to 900 pounds each fell on him. The company is located just off of Missouri Highway 86 at 12837 Keith Lane.

Baltimore, MD- An empty fuel truck being converted to store water blew up outside a Sykesville company yesterday afternoon, killing a 28-year-old employee (Jeremy James Williams of Taneytown), Howard County fire officials said. The tanker exploded when a worker for Renehan's Water For Pools used a blowtorch to cut into the back of the used tanker, said William Mould, a spokesman for the fire department.

Alabama Officer Killed

31-year-old Benito Albarran has been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Huntsville Police Officer Daniel Golden. Twenty-seven year-old Daniel H. Golden, a three-year veteran of the department, was shot in the head after responding to a call at Jalisco Restaurant on Jordan Lane near Mastin Lake Road.

Indianapolis, IN- A truck driver died Monday after being struck by his own semi-trailer while backing out of a Downtown warehouse. Steven Caldwell, 60, of Jackson, Mo., was killed when he was leaving the lot of Interstate Warehousing Inc., 1301 S. Keystone Ave., at about 8 p.m. Indianapolis Police Sgt. Judy Phillips said Caldwell stepped out of the cab of his moving vehicle for some unknown reason and was struck by the trailer. Commercial vehicle enforcement officers with the Indiana State Police assisted in the investigation.